Learn how to enable the Scareware Blocker feature in Microsoft Edge to protect yourself from online tech scams.
Online tech support scams have become more creative and aggressive. If you’re not careful, they can lure you with bogus banner ads and fake virus alerts. These are designed to make you think that your system is infected or has critical issues. The ultimate goal of these scams is to gain remote access to your system to steal data or scam you out of your money with fake products or services, such as virus removal, data recovery, etc.
To effectively deal with these tech scams and protect you while browsing, Microsoft Edge added a new feature called Scareware Blocker. Once enabled, this feature uses AI to identify and block scareware scams, including banners claiming that your system is infected, persistent call-to-action buttons prompting you to contact tech support, alerts mimicking system warnings, and more.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to enable the scareware blocker in Microsoft Edge. Let’s get started.
Steps to Enable Scareware Blocker in Microsoft Edge
- Launch the Start menu by pressing the “Windows” key.
- Search for “Microsoft Edge” and click “Open“.
- Click the “Menu” icon (three horizontal dots).
- Select the “Settings” option.
- Go to the “Privacy, search, and services” tab on the sidebar.
- Click the “Security” option on the right page.
- Turn ON the “Scareware blocker” toggle.
- With that, you’ve enabled the scareware blocker feature in Edge.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
If the Edge browser is not open, you need to open it first. To do that, launch the Start menu by pressing the “Windows” key on your keyboard. Next, type “Microsoft Edge” in the search bar at the top of the Start menu, and click the “Open” option.
After opening Microsoft Edge, click the “Menu” icon (three horizontal dots) on the top-right corner, and then click the “Settings” option from the flyout menu. This action opens the Settings tab in the browser.
In the Settings tab, go to the “Privacy, search, and services” tab on the sidebar. Next, click the “Security” option on the right-hand side of the page.
Here, turn ON the “Scareware blocker” toggle and you’re done.
With that, you’ve enabled the scareware blocker feature in Microsoft Edge. From now on, Edge will block tech scam ads, banners, and alerts to protect you.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
